Picture In My Shoebox
by heaven-angel-15
Summary: KaiOC Kai's childhood friend, Eva, is forced to stay with him for a few months and brings with her a collection of shoeboxes that she refuses to let him see. But just what's in them that's so important? Kai's memories! //ON HIATUS//
1. Prolouge : My Hiwatari Angel

**PROLOUGE: My Hiwatari Angel**

"_Kai! Kai, wait!" a young girl of 9 called out. _

_Her long blonde hair had fallen out of her braid, leaving it in pools around her shoulders, and her clear-blue eyes were blood-shot and teary as she tried not to burst out sobbing at seeing her best friend being forced to leave._

_A 10-year-old Kai Hiwatari turned to face his best friend and he set his suitcase on the curb and waited for her to reach him. She finally reached him and stared up at him in adoration and sadness._

_Even after the few years she'd known Kai, he'd been her best friend, her protection, and the closest thing to a brother she had ever had. _

_She saw him relax slightly when she got closer and she could see the tears he refused to show hidden behind his ruby-coloured eyes. His two-toned slate hair hung low over those eyes of his…the one's that she had always loved looking at because of the many mysteries buried in them. _

_She stopped in front of him to catch her breath before looking up at him, a silent pleading in her eyes._

_Please don't leave…_

_He gave the tiniest of smiles, the ones he saved only for her and she felt the tears spill over her cheeks before she could stop them. It seemed like only yesterday when both her father and Kai's had been killed---found dead in their beds, no wounds on them, and on the same day as each other. The coroners had suspected poison, but from whom no-one knew._

_Little Evangelina Kimikriv, or "Angel" as Kai so often called her, was the luckiest from their fathers deaths._

_Neither of the two children had mothers anymore, but Eva had her aunt and her grandmother to live with now. But Kai…_

_The only person Kai had left was Voltaire._

_She gave a hiccup as she continued to sob for her friend's future with that scary man called Voltaire. The first time she had seen him, she had instantly hidden behind her grandmother's legs. _

_He gave a sickeningly sweet smile before commenting to her grandma just how pretty her grand-daughter was. And that was when Eva saw Kai… or his eyes at least. _

_Standing beside a richly-dressed Voltaire was a small but handsome boy dressed in clothes just as rich as his grandfather's; his ruby-red eyes gazing at her with such intensity it felt like she couldn't move away. _

_Voltaire made another comment about how beautiful Eva was and how much of a lady she appeared to be and her grandmother politely laughed. Remembering Voltaire was there, Eva ducked back behind her grandmother's legs only to see a mop of slate hair peeking out from the other end of her grandmother's legs._

_Curious, she peeked over to see young Kai gazing at her again, a hint of mischief in his eyes. She blushed crimson as he held out his hand and pulled her out from behind her grandmother._

_She couldn't stop staring at him…he was…indescribable. He gave a flicker of a grin before bowing and asking her if she wanted to dance. Startled she froze in place, as did her grandmother and Voltaire._

_He looked up from his bow to meet her eyes and again she was surprised at the many emotions hidden behind his eyes. She nodded at him, at a loss for words and like a little Russian gentlemen, he lead her away to dance._

_They had one dance together, both blushing like crazy, before going to the gardens to talk. _

_And they talked like they never knew they could of Kai's despise for his stupid grandfather, how Eva hated that her grandmother dragged her to all these fancy parties to show her off to the guests, how they both loved beyblading and their fathers, how they both lost their mothers before they truly knew them, and with their words… their friendship and their bond bloomed like a flower in the spring…_

_For 3 and a half years, they had always been there for each other…until three weeks after Kai's 10th birthday, their fathers had died suddenly, and now Kai was being sent to live with his grandfather and Eva was going to move to St.Petersburg with her grandmother and her aunt._

_Neither one wanted to say goodbye._

_A soft hand wiped the tears off her face and she snapped back into the present at Kai's touch. He gave her another tiny smile and she saw sadness, anger, hope, and adoration mixed into his eyes._

"_I promise, I'll see you soon" he said softy. She gave a shaky smile and lost control-throwing herself into Kai's arms and sobbing like a baby._

"_I-I'm go-gonn-a miss y-you hiccup-so m-much!" she wailed. As always, Kai's arms wrapped around her waist as she cried and she immediately felt safe in his arms, his scent in her nose, and his warmth on her skin._

_She felt wetness on her shoulder and turned to gaze up at Kai in shock as thick, silent tears fell from his cheeks. He buried his head into her hair and they hugged each other with all the love they had._

"_I swear" Kai whispered in her ear, "I swear by heaven and hell, that I'll meet you again someday soon."_

_Her tears slowed and she sniffed in embarrassment as she realised what he was going to say._

"_And no matter what happens…" she whispered back to him, as their eyes met and their tears finally stopped._

"_Remember…"she continued with a shaky smile and Kai helped her finish the sentence, a look of hope on his face as she gave a little laugh._

"…_you will always be my Hiwatari Angel…" they chorused before they laughed at the joke, trying their hardest to ignore the pain of saying goodbye..._


	2. Surprise

HEY GUYS!!!!

I'm so excited! This is my first fic. (but I have posted it before--just now it's got a new updated look and a better storyline. LOL)

Nice to see y'all again. Call me CK instead, trust me--It's a whole lot easier than trying to write HiwatariAngel15 every time you post to me...

And a big thank you to all of my past reviwers before I updated this...who probably don't even remember reviwing. LOL.

But anywho, I hope you guys like it!!! **PLEASE REVIEW!!!**

_Love from, CK _

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**CHAPTER 1: …Surprise**

"Eva… Eva, darling we've arrived."

Eva Kimikriv, now 14-years-old, was snapped out of her reminisce by her grandmother's voice in her ear.

Startled, she quickly turned to face her grandmother in the adjoining seat of their private plane, smiling apologetically.

Her grandmother was a powerful and -- even in her old age-- an elegant woman. Her grandmother's long grey hair was pulled into an elegant knot atop her head, and her brown eyes were warm with humour.

"Daydreaming again, I see?" she retorted in a velvety voice. With a sheepish laugh Eva replied, "Yeah, I'm sorry, grandmother. I was just thinking about—"

"It's 'yes', not 'yeah', a proper Russian lady does not use slang" her grandmother corrected. With a tiny sigh, Eva nodded.

"Right, forgive me" she corrected. Seeming satisfied, swiftly and effortlessly her grandmother arose from her seat and waited for Eva to follow. Just as she had been taught so many times before, Eva also arose looking elegant and graceful as a proper Russian lady should, following her grandmother down the plane.

They left the plane and were escorted to a limo which was waiting for them, their luggage in the trunk and the engine warm. Sliding gently into the limo, the door was closed, and the car began to drive.

Eva happily looked out the window at the streets of Japan. She'd never been here before, but she liked it already—the streets seemed carefree but controlled, busy yet relaxed, and it reminded her of nothing more than a beautiful, giant, concrete park.

Looking over to her grand-daughter, Lady Aurora smiled at the curiosity and wonder in Eva's eyes. She gave an adoring chuckle which caught Eva's attention as she turned over her shoulder to look questioningly at her grandmother.

The car stopped only a moment later and both ladies slowly climbed out. In front of them was a large, grey building, the windows sparkling and the large red sign unable to miss.

With a smug smirk, her grandmother turned to her granddaughter and gave her a wink.

"Welcome to BBA Headquarters" she said.

* * *

"HAHA! THIS SOO MUCH FUN!!! MAXIE, YOU GOTTA TRY THIS!! HAHA!!" A blue-haired boy yelled happily.

At the moment, the four Bladebreakers were currently inside a nice black limo on their way to meet with Mr. Dickinson about some kind of new tournament.

Well...okay scratch that, three of the four Bladebreakers were in the limo, the fourth one—being a blue-haired, brown-eyed boy named Tyson—had his head stuck out the window yelling like an idiot.

A happy, carefree idiot… but an idiot none the less.

The second boy, named Max laughed at his friends crazy antics but stayed in the limo all the same. His blonde hair was messy from waking up early and his blue-eyes were wide open and sparkling with his happy-go-lucky attitude.

The third, being a dark-haired, amber-eyed neko-jin named Ray, gave a nervous laugh and sweat dropped as his friend Tyson almost fell out of the window from leaning out so much.

Finally, there was the captain of the Bladebreakers, who wasn't looking all too happy at the moment...but then again he never was too happy to begin with..

Slate-haired Kai was on the verge of growling at his idiotic, frustrating, obnoxious, greedy, immature thing he called a team-mate. Not only had Kai been forced to yell Tyson out of bed (again) this morning, but Tyson's loud voice was really starting to tick Kai off.

Thankfully Ray, as if he could read Kai's mind, tried to convince Tyson to calm down.

"Hey Tyson, why don't you sit down with the rest of us, you know you could get hurt if you're not careful" Ray said kindly to his team-mate.

Tyson turned to face him, giving a proud laugh.

"Are you crazy!? This is too much fun! And besides, nothing will happen to me, Ray, buddy! Remember…" he said pointing a finger at himself and grinning, "…I'M THE WORLD CHAAMP!!!!!HAHAHAHA!!."

And with that Tyson gleefully stuck his head out the window again.

Ray's ears though suddenly heard growling and very cautiously, Ray slowly turned to see his team captain practically burning holes at the back of Tyson's head and growling at the back of his throat.

Without a word, Kai continued to glare at Tyson, before lifting a finger and pushing the 'Up' button on the window, watching with guilty pleasure as it rose to meet Tyson's neck. Tyson made a chocking noise and Kai felt no pain in letting him make a few more noises like that, before Kai, regretfully, hit the 'Down' button, watching as Tyson threw himself back into then limo.

"Idiot" Kai commented before crossing his arms and leaning back for the rest of the ride.

A few minutes later, they arrived at BBA Headquarters. Tyson was still pouting at Kai for trying to choke him, but once they reached the top floor Tyson burst out into a grin again and ran down the hallway to Mr. Dickinson's office.

Tyson knocked and his other team-mates followed him into the large office, where Mr. Dickinson and their friend Kenny and his laptop were already waiting.

"Ah, good day boys" Mr. Dickinson said cheerfully. "I hope you boys don't mind that I called you here on such short notice."

"Not at all, Mr.D" Max replied for the group, "We're all just totally psyched about this new tournament you were talking about."

Mr. Dickinson gave a laugh and the young boy's excitement, and explained that he had told Kenny all about it before they had arrived, but he had a favour to ask them before the tournament would start.

"Whatever it is Mr.D, we'd be honoured to do it for you" Ray replied politely, "after you've done so much for us, it wouldn't be any trouble at all for us to do you a favour."

"Why thank you, Ray" Mr. Dickinson said smiling at him.

"The favour I'd like to ask, is that I have a dear friend of mine coming to visit. She's very famous, and—"

Suddenly, there was a light knock on the door and Mr. Dickinson rose up from his chair at the sound.

"Well now, that must be them. I didn't know they'd be here so soon" he chuckled. He strolled casually over to the door and opened it to reveal a grey haired woman dressed in a rich-purple dress and covered with jewellery.

"Aurora, what a pleasure it is to see you again" Mr. Dickinson said holding out his arms graciously. The woman hugged him back before air-kissing one of his cheeks and giving a kind smile.

"Stanley, how wonderful it is to be here. I hope I did not interrupt anything" she said in a velvety voice, eyeing the five boys sitting behind him.

"Oh! Not at all" Mr. Dickinson replied with a smile. "I was just telling them about you." He turned to the five Bladebreakers and motioned for them to stand beside him.

"Boys, I'd like for you to meet my dear friend, Lady Aurora Kimikriv" he said to them giving a cheerful smile. "And Aurora, I'd like for you to meet the Bladebreakers—Max, Ray, Kenny, Tyson, and Kai."

"A pleasure" Lady Aurora said with a smile.

"Boys, Lady Aurora is the one I was telling you about before. And in her name, I'd like to ask you a favour. You see, she has a grand-daughter, and she—oh! Where is your grand-daughter?" Mr. Dickinson asked in surprise.

Lady Aurora gave a knowing grin and gave a tiny laugh. "I believe that she had left something in the car. I'm terribly sorry, but she should be up in a –"

The click of rushed heels was heard on the tile hallway and as if it had been cued, a girl stopped in front of Mr. Dickinson's office clutching a tiny pet cage.

"I'm sorry" she apologized sincerely as she tried to catch her breath, "I almost forgot Kaito in the car."

Lady Aurora's eyes sparkled and she stepped around Mr. Dickinson to place a hand on the small of the girl's back.

"Stanley, boys, I'd like you to meet my grand-daughter…Lady Evangelina Kimikriv."

Kai's eyes snapped open and his frame stiffened in disbelief at the name.

Eva? He wondered to himself.

….no, it couldn't possibly be…she'd be in Russia…not in Japan…

The young girl straightened up as she heard her name, and all of the boys in the room were startled by her appearance.

She had bright-blonde hair which hung in beautiful waves down to just above her elbows. Clear-blue eyes like water in the sunlight peeked out from her face and her cheeks were flushed a pale pink from dashing to the car, her lips a rosy colour. She was dressed in a knee-length, white dress with matching white heels on.

She gave a small curtsy politely and needless to say, everyone had their mouths open in shock.

She was utterly beautiful.

"Hello" she greeted shyly and the boys quickly closed their mouths and straightened up. Kai could only stare at her.

"Hi" Ray said, "It's nice to meet you" he said giving her a calming smile.

"A pleasure to finally meet you, young lady" Mr. Dickinson said as they shook hands. "You too" she replied seeing his cheerful smile. She relaxed slightly and Mr. Dickinson introduced the Bladebreakers to Eva.

"Eva, this is Max Tate, his father is another good friend of mine" Mr. Dickinson explained. "The boy you just met is Ray Kon, I hand-picked him myself to be one of the BBA's bladers". Ray gave her a smile at this comment.

"This is Kenny, but you can call him the Chief if you want. Lord knows, there's not much this boy doesn't know about Beyblading. Ah! And this is Tyson Granger, our World Champion for three years running." Tyson gave a grin at hearing his title. Eva politely nodded in each boy's direction as Mr. Dickinson introduced them to her.

"And finally, this the team captain of the Bladebreakers," Mr. Dickinson said giving Eva another smile, "Kai Hiwatari."

Eva froze at the name.

Her body visibly stiffened and she sucked in a deep breath, afraid to look at the last boy of the group, afraid of what she might see, and afraid of what she might do…

Mr. Dickinson noticed her discomfort and placed his hand on her arm comfortingly.

"My dear, what's wrong?" he asked. Her breathing became uneven and she managed to whisper out, "…Kai… Hiwatari?"

An amused, tinkling laugh came from Lady Aurora, who was now standing by the large window of Mr. Dickinson's office. Everyone turned to look at her except for Eva, whose head was focused on the hard-wood floors and refused to look up.

"That's right, Eva… Kai Hiwatari," she said, turning to smile mysteriously. Lady Aurora gave another small laugh before saying one word,

"…surprise."

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So???...what do you guys think?!...

Good??? Bad??? Comments??? Criticism???

And please review!!! Click the pretty review button at the bnottom of thepage! You know you wanna!...go on!...

...err, _cough cough_, please?...


	3. Deception

So, what do you guys think so far???

Good? Bad? Could be better?

LOL. Well, whatever you think, let me know! I'll apprachiate it!...

_Love from, CK_

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**Chapter 2: Deception**

Kai mentally cursed Lady Aurora and tried to glare at her. She'd known that Kai worked for Mr. Dickinson and had used her friendship with him to connect Kai with Eva again, and judging from Eva's shock, she hadn't told Eva a single thing about it. But what in the world did that woman want from him and Eva? What good would it do to put them together again except for a few painful memories?...

"Eva, darling, don't looked so shocked" her grandmother said. "A proper Russian lady should never stutter or look so uncomfortable."

Eva tensed again at the sound of her grandmother's voice, but none the less straightened her posture and calmly looked over to Kai.

Both froze when their eyes met.

Ice-blue met ruby-red.

Not wanting to let the sight of a girl stop him—even if she was his childhood friend, and even though she looked pretty as ever—

He silently smacked himself for thinking of that, and forced himself to emotionlessly nod in her direction. She shyly nodded right back before becoming fascinated with the window where her grandmother stood. Her grandmother smiled at her, as if she couldn't see her grand-daughter's discomfort.

"May I ask what was the purpose of our arrival here again, grandmother?' Eva asked in a tone that sounded much calmer and politer than she felt like being.

"Ah, yes! Stanley, have you asked the boys yet?" Lady Aurora said turning to face the chairman of the BBA.

"I was just about to before you walked in" he said giving a tiny smile.

"Boys, as I was saying before, I have a favour I'd like to ask you. Lady Aurora has to go on an international trip to a couple different countries around the world, along with some other important people, to deal with a few political issues. However, while she's gone, Lady Eva won't have anyone to stay with her or help her in case of an emergency. So as a good friend, I suggested that perhaps Eva could stay with you boys for the next few weeks until her grandmother returns. What do you boys think of that?"

Needless to say, everyone was surprised by this suggestion, including Eva.

"WHAT!?" they all chorused.

"Grandmother!" Eva said in surprise, "we can't just!--I mean, we—I can't—"

"We'd love that Mr.D!" Tyson said smiling like a kid at Christmas. Eva turned to him startled.

"But I wouldn't want to?….I…you guys are—"

"It's no problem" Ray reassured her, "we'd love to have her with us, and I'm sure Hilary would like having another girl around. But we'll only do it if Eva's wants us to" Ray said kindly yet firmly.

He could see that this was all arranged by Lady Aurora without Eva's permission, and he meant it when he said they wanted her to stay—but he didn't want Eva to feel uncomfortable living with them. It was her choice, and he'd given her an option, now it was up to her.

That, and there was something very familiar about Eva, that Ray knew he recognised from somewhere….

Eva turned to Ray with awe written behind her eyes.

"I umm—really?" she asked him softly. Ray chuckled at her lightly and gave a firm nod.

"We'd love for you to stay with us, right guys?" he asked.

"Oh yeah!" Max cheered.

"Totally!" Tyson said grinning.

Kai did not reply or meet her gaze but gave a tiny shrug, as if to say 'whatever'. Eva could only stare at them. She suddenly gave a grateful, happy smile and Ray couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Thank you" she said smiling. She was allowed to stay!

"Wonderful!" her grandmother commented with a clap of her hands. "I cannot thank you boys enough for doing us a large favour for me. I know that she'll be in good hands with you strong boys watching over her!" she said with a wink.

"And Stanley, thank you so much for your help, you truly are a gift to me" she said giving him a gracious smile.

"No trouble at all, my dear" he replied smiling back.

"Well then, now that your boys have been kind enough to help my granddaughter…I'm afraid that I have to go. It was a pleasure to meet such fine boys as yourselves, and what a pleasure it was to see you again, Stanley. I hope to you in the next few weeks! Goodbye for now!" Lady Aurora said, strolling casually yet gracefully over to the door.

"Wait! You're leaving already? " Eva said whipping around to watch her grandmother gracefully open the office door. Her grandmother looked at her curiously.

"Of course," she replied as if it were obvious. "I have to be in Paris by nightfall and my plane leaves in just over an hour. I'll see you soon, sweetheart. Ta-ta" she called sweetly before vanishing out the door. And so…

* * *

_20 minutes later…_

* * *

Eva found herself inside the Granger dojo with 3 guys she had never met before, her old best-friend, and someone called "Gramps" who talked more slang than a teenage gangster. 

"Yo homies, y'all want something to drink?" Gramps asked them as they sat in the main room of the dojo.

Mutters of agreement went through them and Gramps left them for a minute to go get drink from the kitchen.

'_He seems nice'_ Eva thought, _'he scared me a little when I first met him,_ _but he's sweet and funny…I like him …'_

There was an awkward silence for a moment, no-one knowing what to say.

Max was the first to speak up and thankfully broke the silence.

"So Eva, how old are you?" he asked.

"Fourteen. I'll be fifteen in a few months" she answered, glad that there was at least some conversation going on.

"Really? That means you're almost the same age as us! That's awesome!" he shouted excitedly. She gave a tiny giggle at his happiness, but was thankful for how friendly he was towards her.

"Do you know Kai?" Tyson suddenly asked, leaning in suspiciously. The room went still and Eva was startled at how direct the question had been. She hesitated and bit her lip nervously but reluctantly nodded, looking away from Kai in case he would be angry at her for answering truthfully.

"How do you know Kai?" Tyson asked quickly, which earned him a light smack from Ray.

"I'm sorry about Tyson's rudeness" Ray quickly said, "he just—"

"We're friends" Eva stated.

"No way! Kai has friends!?" Tyson said in disbelief, which earned him another smack from Ray and a death glare from Kai.

Eva only smiled at them all.

They seemed so much like a family to her…they were all different and unique, but they all worked together and with that they could accomplish anything. And just like a family, everyone had their place.

Kai seemed to be cold and serious towards everyone, but that reminded Eva of a father figure, while Tyson and Max seemed like younger brothers, and Ray--truth be told-- reminded her of their mother, warning them to always be careful.

A picture of Ray in a pink dress and an apron popped into her head and she started to giggle, and then gave a little laugh, before she had to cover her mouth as she burst out laughing at the ridiculous image.

The boys turned to her as she laughed. No-one knew what was so funny, but she looked happy and they decided to leave her until she stopped—at least she felt less awkward being with them now.

Eva eventually forced herself to stop laughing and gave a cough of embarrassment. Gramps walked in with the drinks just then, and Tyson eagerly jumped up to get them.

"Thanks, Gramps, I got from here!" he said grabbing the tray from his grandpa's arms…and dropped the glasses.

Tyson's eyes widened when he realised what he'd done.

Eva had the drinks now, and by that, I mean that they were all over her.

Her blonde hair was covered in what she guessed was some kind of cherry-soda-pop and her white dress was now soaked and sticky from where the pop had landed all over her.

Tyson gave a nervous laugh as Eva sat there, not knowing what to do.

"Umm….oops" Tyson said sheepishly. Kai gave a dark growl at the back of his throat and sent Tyson another harsh, death-glare.

"Hey! I said I was sorry!" Tyson defended at his very pissed, very irritated team-captain.

"It's alright" Eva reassured, "I can just change into another pair of clothes from my suitcase" she said looking down at herself.

With his eyes still in full death-glare mode, Kai swiftly stood up and yanked Eva off of the floor. Before she could say anything, he was dragging her down the hallway by her wrist and led her into the kitchen. Without a word, he turned on the tap and ran a facecloth under it, muttering in Russian under his breath.

Not knowing what to say now that they were alone and he was obviously mad, Eva remained quiet as he shut off the tap.

He took the wet facecloth and put it in her hands and she wordlessly began wiping the drink off of her dress. She looked to the floor, feeling unsure of what to do, and when she looked up she was met with his harsh gaze.

"You shouldn't have told that idiot it was alright" he said coldly, "He thinks its okay that he did that now."

Startled at the edge in his voice, Eva took a step back, and he took a step forward.

"What? K-Kai, I –"

"Your luggage with your clothes in it isn't here" he hissed, and Eva was shocked at his statement.

"No, they are…" she reassured, "the luggage from the airport went straight to the car, and I took all of my luggage out from grandmother's car before she left. They have to be here" she said. Eva suddenly stiffened as a thought crept into her head.

"…Don't they?" she asked.

Kai's frown deepened. "They're not. Your grandmother made sure of that when she left you with us. If you don't believe you can take a look at the goddamn note she wrote for me. Instructions on how to keep you on her little leash while she's gone" he spat out.

Eva froze as he spoke.

"What?" she said softly, not trusting her voice.

Kai wordlessly took a folded piece of pale-blue paper—which she recognised as her grandmother's personal stationery—out of his pocket and handed it to her frowning.

She quickly unfolded the paper and saw her grandmother's handwriting neatly covering the paper.

The words were all in Russian, but Eva easily read them, being Russian herself.

_"Dear Kaiser,_

_We've only briefly met before this, although I doubt that you know who I am. I do however; think you will remember my grand-daughter, Eva-- she's a beautiful girl, and even more beautiful now that she's grown. I have a feeling that Eva will be staying with you and your team for a little while, so here are a list of things I thought it might be kind to let you know._

_1) Really, I do hate to deceive people, but I'm afraid I won't be gone a few weeks—rather a few months instead. I just didn't have the heart to tell Eva, She get so emotional over goodbyes, so I'm leaving you with her for a bit longer than originally planned. I do hope that isn't a problem…_

_2) I'm afraid that the airport lost all of Eva's clothing in her luggage, so you'll have to find her some extra clothes until the poor girl can go shopping for new ones. I only found out in the car, and that's no way to leave your grand-daughter is it? It's better for her if she finds out on her own._

_3) Eva has quite a few different ---_

Eva made a little noise in her throat pushing the paper back to Kai and pacing the kitchen in a state of panic. Kai simply watched her emotionlessly, as she paced the kitchen and muttered to herself—not knowing what to do about her grandmother's obvious change of plans.

A minute later, Eva stopped pacing and closed her eyes taking a couple deep breaths. When she opened them, the panic in her eyes was gone replaced by a look of deep hurt and sadness. She looked to the floor and fidgeted with her hands.

Kai watched her, unsure of what to do or say. He wasn't a talkative person and he sure as hell didn't know what to say when comforting someone—let alone an upset girl.

Eva turned suddenly and walked away, Kai following just behind her as she walked into the main room of the dojo again, smiling apologetically.

"Sorry" she said, "it turns but my grandmother isn't going to be gone for a couple weeks, but a couple of months instead. Thank you guys so much for offering to let me stay with you, but I really can't stay here for a couple months… I hope to see you guys soon, and it was really nice to meet you. I'm sorry" she said giving them what she hoped was a cheerful smile, but it was obvious to everyone how she really felt.

"No need to apologize" Ray said sensing the hurt in her voice, "and I don't think we'd mind having you stay with us for a couple months."

"That's really kind, but I couldn't. With the four of you staying here plus Tyson's grandfather, if I stayed for a month, let alone a few months, it would be way too crowded and I couldn't do that to you guys in your own home. I would be easier if I stayed in a hotel, I've done it before and I'd be alright on my own" Eva tried to reassure.

"Liar" Kai spat out at her from his regular position on the wall. She turned to him in confusion. Kai opened his eyes and shot her a hard look.

"I want your bags by the door in lees than an hour. You'll stay with me on days we're not at the dojo. Don't argue, don't complain, and I'm only making one trip, so make sure you have everything" he ordered her.

She was amazed at how calm he was—as if what he had just told her was something she heard all the time.

"Kai…I really can't, you—"

Kai shot her a death-glare and she shut her mouth, knowing there was no arguing with Kai when he had already made-up his mind on something.

Looks like she was going to be living with him for the next few months…

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Umm...uhhh...**REVIEW !!!!!**


	4. Sentimentals

Kai and Eva, sittin' in a tree!!!

K-I-S-S-I --- huh?

_--CK suddenly realises that there are people watching her. --_

_-- She blushes and grins sheepishly --_

Hehehe...sorry. Anyways, continue reading!

I hope you like it!

_Love from, CK_

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**Chapter 3 : Sentimentals**

Kai gave an 'hmph' of uncaring before walking out of the room, leaving a very uncomfortable Eva.

She turned to the others and they sweatdropped, trying to give her reassuring smiles about Kai's attitude.

Eva let out a tired and frustrated sigh, running a hand trough her hair and trying to calm herself over what her grandmother had done.

Abandoned her.

"Wait," Ray said as everyone turned to look at him. He nodded towards Eva.

"Raise your right arm again" he instructed.

Eva cautiously raised her arm upwards and extended it, just like he'd asked.

Ray gave a grin, one of his fangs sitting over his bottom lip as he said, "I knew there was something familiar about you! You're a neko-jin, aren't you?" he asked.

Eva gave a look of surprise and nodded.

"I'm a halfling—my mother was a neko-jin, but my father was Russian" she told him, "but I'm still considered Russian, since that was where I was born and my mother took on my dad's Russian last name when they married."

Ray's grin widened. "Do you know where your mother was from?" Ray asked.

Eva gave a small grin in return. "Where are you from Ray? You're obviously a neko-jin…but my mother came from a small town in Italy. You don't look Italian to me…are you…but you're…Chinese? I'm sorry--I don't mean to be rude…it's just that… my mother and her village were very close with a tiny village in China. I doubt you've heard of it, though…"

Ray's heart jumped and he stepped closer to Eva, hardly believing what he was hearing.

"Do you mean White Tiger Village?"

"Yes! Are you from there?" Eva said turning to look at him in disbelief and excitement.

"From there?" Ray repeated, "That's my hometown! I'm the one that holds the sacred white-tiger as my bitbeast!"

"Are you kidding me? You have Driger, the white-tiger, as your bitbeast? That's amazing!" she cried out.

Ray laughed happily. "This sounds like the start of a beautiful friendship!" he joked. Eva smiled at his friendliness towards her.

"Looks like it!" she joked back, feeling comfortable around him as she walked over and gave him a quick hug.

Ray smiled as he hugged her back, now noticing her cat-like poise, the slight point to her ears, and her slightly sharper-thabn-average teeth as she smiled.

Kai walked into the kitchen, getting ready to yell at everyone that it was time for training, but stopped when he saw Ray and Eva hugging.

An image of himself yanking Eva out of Ray's arms and into his own flashed through his head.

'_What's wrong with me? It's not like I care or anything…_'he told himself.

He gave a grunt of annoyance at his thoughts, which caught everyone's attention.

"Alright, time for training. Everyone get out and wait for my instructions" Kai ordered.

Grumbles followed Kai's order, but everyone shuffled outside anyways.

"Hehehe, hey Kenny!" Tyson called out happily, seeing the computer-genius waiting for them in Tyson's backyard.

Kenny waved at them and a second later he was joined by Hilary who appeared from around the corner.

"AHHH!!" Tyson yelled, trying to turn around and run at the sight of the brown-haired girl. He was stopped by Kai who roughly grabbed his shirt and carelessly dragged him back outside.

"Oh my gosh, grow up Tyson!" she said, her hands on her hips. Tyson sneered at her in response. Just then, both Hilary and Kenny were surprised when Eva timidly walked out from behind Kai.

Hilary looked her over from head-to-toe disapprovingly, noting her stained dress.

"Who are you?" Hilary asked suspiciously.

"Oh, my name is Eva" Eva quickly said, "I'm staying with these guys for the next little while."

"Why?' Hilary asked.

"It—it was my grandmother's idea. She's friends with Mr. Dickinson."

Hilary raised an eyebrow and looked Eva over from head-to-toe again.

Eva shifted uncomfortably, and seeing Hilary's intense gaze sweep over her, she instinctively moved closer to the person who was standing beside her--Kai.

Hilary's eyes narrowed when she saw Eva move closer to Kai.

_Just what does she think she's trying to do with my man?! _Hilary thought. _Well…if she tries anything with him, she'll desperately regret it! Kai is mine_ _and that girl better know it!'_

Hilary gave a sickeningly sweet smile to Eva and moved closer towards her.

"So then, Eva…do you beyblade?" Hilary asked. Eva shyly nodded.

"Are you a beginner?" Hilary asked. Eva wasn't sure what Hilary meant by that question, but she replied with a quiet, "no."

"Really? That's great!" Hilary said darkly, "so if you're staying with us for a while, does that mean you're going to be Tyson's partner for the next Beyblade tournament?."

"What?" Eva said in surprise, "I uhh—I didn't even know there was a—"

"There's a beyblade tournament coming up!?" Tyson interrupted, looking to Kenny excitedly.

Kenny smiled knowingly and nodded. "Mr. Dickinson called me in this morning to tell me about it, and I was supposed to relay the message to you guys. It starts in two months time, and he'll be advertising it at the end of this week.

The tournament is more of an exhibition game than an actual competitive game. It's to celebrate the BBA's new corporate sponsors officially signing with them.

Most teams have already been notified and if my data is correct, some teams are even arriving as soon as this week to prepare for the tournament's opening date.

It's a tag team tournament, so each blader must pair up with another to enter. Hilary and I have been going over the statistics and co-operability of each of you, and we've determined that since Hilary now blades, she's licensed to enter, so all we need is one more blader and we're set to register" Kenny told them.

"Sweet!" Tyson shouted throwing a fist up into the air. "So, do you guys know who's gonna be paired with who?"

Kenny nodded. "After Hilary and I ran over all of your statistics this morning, we've decided that Hilary and Kai are a strong match together, so they'll be together for the tournament. Hilary is strong defensively but slightly weak offensively, and Kai is incredibly strong on offence as well as defence, so they'll be paired together."

Hilary smiled at Kai, who didn't bother to react.

"Also, since both Max and Ray are equally strong in offence and in defence, they'd be best as partners, which leaves only you, Tyson, who needs a partner to match your skills and strengths."

"Cool!" Tyson said, taking what Kenny had said as a compliment. He grinned and threw his arms around Eva cheerily.

"So Eva, do wanna be my partner?' he asked her grinning.

"Oh wait!" Hilary suddenly interrupted in mock surprise, "how do we know you're good enough to be on the team?" she asked. Eva stuttered in confusion.

"I-uhh, I don't even---"

"She'll blade Tyson in two weeks. If she wins, she's on the team, if not… go find yourself another partner Kinomya," Kai said coldly.

"Wonderful" Hilary said mockingly, but it appeared that only Eva heard the comment.

Kai gave an 'hmph' uncaringly and turned to the rest of the team before speaking.

"Whatever, we'll skip training today. Eva get your stuff and let's go" he ordered her. The rest of the team sighed in relief that training was cancelled but stopped when Kai looked at them warningly.

"Training is cancelled for today, but tomorrow you will be doing twice as much work. So don't get too happy over it…." Kai turned soundlessly and walked away as Eva followed him unsurely.

She quickly grabbed her bags and within a few minutes a black car rolled up and Eva and Kai were both driven home by the Hiwatari's personal chauffeur. Awkwardly, Eva spent most of the trip looking out the window at the streets of Japan but after a short drive out of town she recognized the Hiwatari emblem on the black gates where their car pulled up.

A moment later the gates swung open and Eva looked with new interest at Kai's mansion.

It was stone grey and as large as a mansion could be. There was a small fence around the driveway and a tiny almost non-existent garden took up the front of the driveway's round-about, along with a small grey fountain.

"This is your house?" Eva asked.

"Yes" was Kai's cold reply. Eva smiled softly to herself.

_At least he's talking to me… _she thought on the bright side.

"It's nice" she told him. He grunted as if to disagree with her naïve opinion.

The chauffeur opened the door for them and told Eva that he would take her luggage for her up to her room. She thanked him kindly and then quickly ran to catch up with Kai, who had already entered the house.

He waited for her impatiently at the bottom of a large staircase and wordlessly brought her upstairs. They went through a few twisted, richly decorated corridors before finally stopping in a wide hallway in front of a solid, French door.

"Here. This is your room" he told her, but before he could continue someone rounded the corner and stopped behind them.

An tall, elderly man with a grey moustache and a kind face bowed apologetically behind them, and said in a thick accent,

"Forgive me Master Kai; I did not know you were home." Kai 'hmph'ed in response to the man's words but nodded to him in acknowledgement. The older man then looked up from his bow and met Eva's gaze uncertainly. Eva stiffened but relaxed a moment later as a smile crept onto her surprised face.

"Vlad!" she said happily walking over to give the man a hug. The man chuckled and returned the smile and the hug, pulling away after a moment to view her at an arm's length.

"My goodness…Eva! Oh, Mistress Eva! What a wonderful surprise this is!" he commented to her happily. "When on earth did you get here?" he asked.

"Today, it was grandmother's idea since she's going away on business. I didn't know you were here, though! I thought you were supposed to back in Russia at the Hiwatari Palace!" she said.

A look of confusion crossed Vlad's features. "Palace?" he muttered.

Eva covered her mouth in realisation.

"I mean the Hiwatari Mansion in Russia" she said quickly. "It's just that you, well, the Hiwatari's own so many mansions I usually call the main mansion a palace, just so I can remember the difference" she admitted.

Vlad let out a cheery laugh and touched her cheek tenderly.

"Oh I see, I see! Oh, if only your parents could see you now, Miss Eva. You've grown into such a beautiful young woman!—so full of life like your father and just as beautiful as your mother!" he commented.

Eva smiled in thanks at him.

"So young Mistress, does that mean you'll be staying with us for a while?" Vlad asked.

"Yes" Eva replied, "a few months…I'm really sorry if it's a problem" she added quickly.

"No problem at all!" he told her. Vlad then turned to Kai.

"Have you given the Mistress a room yet, Master?' Vlad asked.

"Yes" Kai replied, "You're standing in front of it. Get her set up and tell her to meet me at 7:00pm sharp for dinner."

"Yes, Master" Vlad said and seeming satisfied, Kai walked past them both without a word. Eva watched Kai go and Vlad gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Master Kai is always like that, but we all know he's a big softie underneath it all" Vlad teased. "Now, Miss Eva, if you'll follow me I'll show you your room and your way around the mansion."

He opened the large white door and kindly let Eva walk in first. Like all the other times she had been in a Hiwatari Mansion, the room was extremely large and filled with a comfy double-bed, a television, a personal bathroom, a walk-in closet, a computer and a work desk, along with a beautiful window.

"You're quite familiar with the layout of the room I take it, Miss Eva" Vlad said, "so I'll just mention one little thing. You see that door over there? The one beside the bathroom door? That door connects to Master's Kai's bedroom, so if for any reason you should need assistance or get lonely, feel free to sneak in" he told her.

"Wait, Kai put my room next to his!?" Eva said turning to Vlad in surprise. Vlad nodded at her in amusement.

"But of course, anytime that you've ever slept over at the Hiwatari mansion your room has always been beside Master Kai's" Vlad told her. "Don't you remember?"

"No, I remember" Eva reassured, "it's just that… I'm surprised Kai remembered that. I've heard rumours that Kai has lost a lot of his memory since the Abbey" Eva said. Her face fell and a look of worry and sadness spread across her face as she mentioned the Abbey.

"Kai probably doesn't remember much about his childhood before the Abbey…and truthfully, I'm surprised he even remembered that we used to be friends. I just hope he's okay…."she trailed off worriedly.

Vlad laid a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring grin.

"Don't worry, Miss. Master Kai is stronger than you think, in more ways than one. He can take care of himself, and he'll regain his memories when the time is right."

Eva nodded gently but looked up to Vlad in support.

"Vlad, just so you know, even when I was a kid you were always my favourite person in the Hiwatari mansion," she told him. "You're an irreplaceable friend. But do you…do you ever think that Kai may never gets his memories back?" she asked.

Vlad shook his head at her with a smile.

"I know that Kai will get his memories back eventually. I can feel it, all the way in these old bones of mine" Vlad laughed. "Now, enough worrying" he told her, "do you want a tour of the mansion?"

"Oh, no thank you" Eva said, "I'll just explore on my own." Vlad nodded in response.

Just then, the chauffeur appeared around the corner with Eva's bags. Eva thanked him sweetly and took the bags and luggage from his hands and Vlad stepped in to help her.

They moved her suitcases into the room and Vlad went back out to pick up the last one.

"No wait!" Eva suddenly said running over to Vlad's side. She took a tiny green suitcase out from Vlad's hand and grinned sheepishly at him.

"I'll take this one" Eva insisted. Vlad raised an eyebrow at her but let her take the bag.

"Something important, I take it?" he questioned. Eva looked down in embarrassment.

"It's…personal…and very valuable to me" she told him quietly; as if she were afraid he was going to laugh.

"Sentimental jewellery?" he asked her. She shyly shook her head.

"No, much…much more valuable than jewellery" she said. Vlad nodded in understanding.

"I see. Well Miss Eva, if you need any assistance just call out, and watch over that suitcase of yours. If it's precious to you then don't ever lose sight of it, although I can't seem to think of anything more valuable than jewels to Russian girl…" Vlad pondered in thought as he turned away and walked down the stairs. Eva watched him go fondly and sighed in relief once he was gone.

"True" she muttered to herself sadly, "there isn't much that's more valuable than jewellery to most Russian girls…except me…Kai's memories are much more important than jewellery to me..."

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YES!...Hehehehehe...

So, what do you guys think of it so far???

Let me know!!!


	5. Kai's Clothes

Hey everybody! I'm ba-ack!!! LOL

So, how are y'all???

Umm...yeah...I don't know what to say...so uhhh...umm...uhhh...MOOSE!

Okay, I'm done... LOL.

**PLEASE REVIEW**!!! And until later...

_Love from, CK_

**

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Chapter 3: Kai's Clothes **

Eva locked the door and stripped off her stained dress before sliding into the large, warm shower with an appreciative sigh.

The water felt wonderful on her skin and the steam was relaxing as she let herself soak up the pleasure for a few moments before starting to wash.

She shampooed her hair and scrubbed herself clean, making sure to get rid of all the sticky soda that Tyson had spilt on her.

After a few minutes showering, Eva turned off the water and grabbed two nearby towels to dry herself with—one for her hair, the other for her body. She stepped out and wrapped herself up in the fluffy towels before walking out into her bedroom to get some new clothes.

Eva spotted her green suitcase which she had taken from Vlad only minutes ago, and quickly averted her eyes from it, in case she was tempted to open it. She scanned the rest of the room in confusion as she saw only two suitcases, instead of three.

_Where did I put my other suitcase?…_ she wondered. She kneeled down to look under the bed and looked in the empty, walk-in closet, but became worried when she couldn't find it in the room.

Suddenly Eva gasped in embarrassment she remembered seeing the note Kai had shown her from her grandmother.

_I'm afraid that the airport lost all of Eva's clothing in her luggage, so you'll have to find her some extra clothes until the poor girl can go shopping for new ones… _

Eva blushed and bit her lip nervously.

_Darn it! I have no clothes!! Grandma! What in the world are you trying to do to me?! _Eva thought in distress.

Suddenly, Eva felt a barely-there tug from around her neck, as if someone had pulled a string. She recognized the feeling and crouched down to her green suitcase, but stopped as she debated on whether or not to open it.

**_Open…_** a tiny voice whispered in her ear, and without another thought she unzipped the suitcase.

She flipped the lid to reveal five boxes wrapped in paper to protect them. Tenderly, Eva went to the one on the far left and took off the paper to show a blue, cardboard shoebox with an outline of a phoenix drawn on the lid.

She carefully lifted the box out from the suitcase and laid it on the floor. She took off the lid and automatically reached for a tiny white and black box in the corner of the larger box. She took of the lid and let herself give a tiny smile as she took out her beyblade, the blank bitchip glowing softly.

_Hello there, Dranzella… _Eva said to her bitbeast. The apparent blank-white bitchip glowed a little brighter as a merry, teasing voice resounded in Eva's ears.

**_Hello to you too…I'd ask you how've you've been, but I already know that today hasn't been the best day for either of us…._** The voice said. Eva nodded in agreement, taking the towel off from around her hair.

_This is one of grandmother's worst tricks yet! And I'm not too happy about it…_

_**Ha! Speak for yourself; you weren't stuck in a box all day, now were you? **_Dranzella retorted irritably.

_I'm sorry _Eva apologized_, but it's not like I could keep you with me on the trip! _

_You know that grandmother would have killed me if she knew I had a beyblade! Let alone that I have a bitbeast and I go to beyblade battles! _Eva defended.

**_Yeah, I know…but you could have at least let me out when your grandma left! I can sense that those boys you were with have the four Sacred Bitbeasts as their guardians, so you could've at least let me come out to say hello! _**Dranzella said.

_Maybe next time… _Eva said.

**_Oh alright, but now back to business…. _**Dranzella said,**_ as much as you love hearing my voice, there's a reason I summoned you. You don't have any clothes, right?_** Dranzella asked. Eva blushed a little and nodded.

**_Well why the heck are you standing here? Go get some! _**Dranzella said, as if the answer were obvious.

_Ya know, I'd really love to put on some clothes_' Eva said tauntingly, _but where am I supposed to get clothes? I doubt I can run out to the store in a towel, and Vlad is way too busy already without me asking him to go get me clothes!_

**_Hel-lo, can you say Kai's-closet?_** Dranzella teased, and Eva could almost feel her bitbeast grinning as she blushed a darker red.

_What!? I can't borrow Kai's clothes!_ Eva protested

**_Why not? He's probably just a couple sizes larger than you, and you said yourself, there's no way you can get clothes dressed in a towel…_**

_But I, --_

**_Just do it! Vlad said Kai's room is next to yours in case you need anything, right? And right now, you need clothes! So go borrow some of his, I'm sure Kai won't mind…_**

_I can't! Kai might get mad at me!_

_**Oh, pish-posh! I'm, sure Kai would rather you borrowed some of his clothes than have you walk around at dinner dressed in only a towel!...Oh wait, never mind, Kai might actually like that…**_

Eva mentally scowled at her bitbeast, her blush more apparent now than ever and wordlessly stood up and walked over the door connecting the two rooms. She felt Dranzella grin devilishly as Eva frowned at her bitbeast, and raised a hand to knock on the door.

She knocked quietly then waited a few moments before knocking a little louder. No-one came to adjoining door, so Eva pulled the towel closer around herself and opened the door a little.

"Kai?" she called out, both hoping and fearing there would be an answer. There was none and she opened the door a little wider, seeing Kai's empty bedroom

**_See? _**Dranzella said, **_no worries. Kai's not here, you can grab some of his clothes, and when he gets home later you can explain what happened. It's all good!_**

_Alright… but only this once!…_Eva relctantly agreed, as she quietly crept into the room.

Kai's bedroom was everything that reminded Eva of Kai.

His bedroom walls were painted a dark, blood-red and his walls were covered with random photos and notes. His bed sheets were also a dark red, but the dark, eerie room was brightened by the small balcony and transparent gold curtains hanging off the wall. She noticed that he had a majestic gold phoenix painted on the wall opposite his bed, probably a drawing of Dranzer, and little gold symbols making a circle around the phoenix.

Remembering why she was here, Eva walked quickly over to Kai's walk in closet and grabbed the nearest pair of jeans, a belt, and an ordinary white T-shirt. Once she grabbed the clothes she began to quickly leave Kai's room.

_There, I'm done. Happy now?_ Eva muttered to her bitbeast, feeling guilty for creeping around Kai's room.

_**Umm…Mistress?** _Dranzella said.

_What now?_

**_Don't you need, well… underclothes, to go… under your clothes?_**

Eva paled as the thought struck her.

_Darn it! …can't I just wear the same—never mind…but where in the world do you expect me to get underclothes?!_ Eva asked.

**_Well….hmmm, I suppose you could always wear the same bra for today, but as for a new pair of underclothes….well, I suppose borrowing some of Kai's boxers wouldn't hurt, would it?_**

Eva almost fell over at hearing her bitbeast's suggestion.

_Dranzella! I am not going to go through Kai's underclothes drawer!_ She mentally hissed, her face turning bright red at the thought.

**_Why not? You can't go commando in jeans, sweetie. And besides, you can wash them afterwards, put them back in the drawer, and he'll never know the difference!'_**

_NO! Dranzella, that's way too far!_Eva hissed.

**_Look sweet-pea, you need underclohes, and if you won't get a pair out of Kai's drawer, then I'll do it for you!_** Dranzella said calmly, as if taking Kai's underwear was an everyday occurrence.

_NO! DRANZELLA, ST—_

**_Oops! Too late!_** Dranzella said sweetly. A drawer on Kai's dresser shot out and a second later the balcony door swung open. A gust of wind came through the room and before Eva could react, a pair of boxers had fallen into her hand. As quick as before, the door swung shut and the drawer slammed closed.

Eva was horrified as she heard Dranzella giggling girlishly in her head.

**_There! All done! Now we can go, and if you're so scared about Kai getting mad that you took his clothes, I will personally tell him and Dranzer that it was my idea and that I'm the one who went through his clothes. Okay? Now come on, it's almost time for dinner! _**Dranzella scolded.

Eva would've yelled at her bitbeast in mortification, but was stopped when she saw that it was indeed getting closer to 7:00.

_You…I, uhh …I, you –oh fine! But Dranzella, we are NEVER doing this again_! Eva quickly told her bitbeast guiltily.

Eva quickly ran back to her room and closed the connecting door, muttering under her breath and asking herself why she taken Dranzella out from the box in the first place.

Quickly, Eva laid Dranzella on her bed and began to change.

_I can't believe I'm doing this…_ Eva thought nervously.

She threw on Kai's boxers and his jeans, ignoring Dranzella's giggle as she did so. She then looped the belt through the jeans and picked up his shirt—but was interrupted when Dranzella began talking to her again.

_**Mistress,—**_

_Dranzella, I can't talk to you right now! _Eva said trying to stop herself from blushing again.

**_Mistress, I—_**

_Dranzella, please. I'm nervous enough as it is for dinner with Kai, and I don't need you telling me what I should be doing!_

_**Mistress! I want--**_

_Not now Dranzella, please! _Eva cried out in frustration and Dranzella gave a loud shriek to silence her.

**_Mistress! SOMEONE IS ABOUT TO OPEN THE DOOR! _**Dranzella yelled in warning.

Eva gasped and whipped around to try and lock the door.

Before Eva was halfway across the room, however, the handle turned and an irritated Kai waked into the room.

"Eva, diner's re---" Kai stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Eva standing there, blushing furiously and looking up at him in shock.

_Oh gods…_ Kai thought distantly.

She looked breathtaking.

That was all Kai knew at that moment.

Her blonde hair hung in wet, loose waves down her shoulders, and she had her hands covering her chest in modesty, dressed in only a blue bra which seemed to make her all the more attractive to him. Her skin was glistening with water, the jeans she was wearing baggy on her slanted hips as a pair of black boxers peeked out from above her waistline.

Faintly, Kai recognised the clothes as his own, but found he couldn't stop staring at how… beautiful she was.

_Like an angel… _he thought distractedly.

An angel who was (unfortunately) causing his body to react in ways he didn't want her to know about...

Both stared at each other for what seemed like hours, neither one moving or knowing what to say.

Kai felt himself open his mouth to speak, but found that the words wouldn't come, and Eva felt her cheeks turn a dark red colour, but even then she couldn't tear her eyes off of his.

His gaze swept over her body without either one of the two teens noticing or caring, and he found that seeing Eva in his clothes filled him with something he couldn't name…an emotion that felt possessive and proud all at once.

For the second time that day, fiery ruby-red eyes met crystalline ice-blue, and neither one could look away.

Suddenly, an ear-shattering screech resounded across the room and both teens were forced to cover their ears at the harsh noise. Another harsh screech followed a second later, and then there was a flash of light as Kai was thrown backwards out of the room.

The door slammed shut as if on its own, and Eva heard Dranzella's worried and pitiful squawk resound in her ears.

A moment later, the giant white phoenix materialized in the room and wrapped her wings protectively around Eva's form, crying out again, sounding utterly worried and horribly ashamed.

**_Mistress!!!_** Dranzella cried out, nuzzling the girl's throat tenderly. **_Oh my goodness! Are you alright!?..._**

Eva stumbled for words as she remembered Kai's gaze on her half-naked form. He looked so…awed.

"I…I'm f-fine" Eva said quietly and Dranzella let out a pitiful whimper.

**_Oh gods! Mistress, please forgive me!! This is all my fault! If I hadn't been so cruel before then perhaps you would have listened to me when I tried to warn you that someone was coming!!! Oh gods! I'm so sorry…..so sorry…_** Dranzella whispered guiltily.

Eva smiled timidly and stroked the phoenix's feathers gently.

"It's alright…I was just surprised that's all… I didn't expect Kai would know I had his clothes so soon!" she said, trying to cheer up her ashamed bitbeast.

Dranzella made a whimpering noise of defeat and nuzzled Eva again, trying to comfort her Mistress more than anything else. Eva accepted the gesture and nuzzled Dranzella's feathers in return, feeling her bitbeast's power and care surrounded her.

Eva turned to look the eyes of the phoenix, and placed a light kiss on her beak.

"I'm sorry too" she said, "if I had been braver than I would've been able to tell you 'no' when you said we should take Kai's clothes… but you know that I can't say no to you, Dranz " she told her bitbeast.

Dranzella cooed and nuzzled her Mistress yet again and Eva let herself smile sheepishly.

"All in all though, it was a good idea to borrow Kai's clothes. But next time, remind me to lock the door" Eva said. Dranzella nodded in response.

**_Alright…, and next time, if I get carried away, feel free to toss me back in the box _**she said. Eva lightly grinned.

"Deal."

**_Now then, you better throw on your shirt _**Dranzella said, nudging Eva back towards the clothes awkwardly. **_Kai is probably waiting for you downstairs already…and tell him that I apologize for tossing him out so hard. _**

**_I didn't mean for it to be that rough, but I felt horrible when I saw the way he was staring at you… I just didn't want him to see you like that, Mistress. You're beautiful, and although Kai is your friend, he's still a teenage boy to me, and I wasn't going to let him see you so…so…revealed. _**

**_I'm so sorry again Mistress…_**

Eva smiled in understanding and quickly threw on the shirt before giving Dranzella a final word of reassurance and waked out the door.

**_Wait!_** Dranzella's voice called back to her, and Eva walked back into the room in curiosity as to what her bitbeast had to say.

**_Mistress, you almost forgot to hide the shoeboxes! _**Dranzella told her, and Eva mentally hit herself for being so careless.

_Right, of course! Thanks Dranzella _Eva quickly said, before she closed the lid over the blue box and placed it back into her suitcase. She zipped up the suitcase and carefully slid it under her bed, and then pulled the duvet down so that it couldn't be seen.

_There, now it's safe and sound... _Eva told herself, smiling to Dranzella and quickly dashing out of the room and down the stairs.

* * *

LOL. Oh... "Moose"... and stealing Kai's clothes!!!! 

Hehehehe...priceless...


	6. Hoping For The Best

Hey you guys!!!

Someone mentioned to me that my chappies might be too short, so the next chapter will be longer -- I promise.

Until then, I hope you guys like this chapter!

And a huge **THANK YOU** to all of my wondeful,sweet reviewers!!!!! (Both on this fic before it was redone and now that it has been redone. LOL)

_-- huggle --_

This fic was previously justcalled "Shoebox" and I wanna give a HUGE thank you to all of you!!!

... and half of you probably don't even remember reviwing on this fic. LOL.

That's refering to Fish and Chips, AnimeCrazy88, BirdsofPrey9832, Rael-Lirdu, Muffy17, Kai Angel, Sora-Kuro, sakuraloveskyosohma, and Kai Angel.

And specifically, I mean thank you to and especially twin1, Kai-Hiwatari-Lover, lil' azn, x-Justabitdramatic-x, Solitairesilvercat, and animasha92.

: D

_Love from, CK_

**

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**

**Chapter 4 : Hoping For The Best**

Dinner went by in a nervous, but comfortable silence between the two friends.

Eva was relieved when she arrived back at her room to find that Dranzella was in her bitchip and that her suitcase had not been touched under the bed. Sighing tiredly at the day's events, Eva yawned sleepily and realised that she had another problem to deal with.

No clothes also meant no pyjamas.

_Looks like I'm going to be borrowing more of Kai's clothes... _she thought to herself.

Awkwardly, Eva decided to use the front door to Kai's room to knock, instead of the adjoining door, hoping to avoid another uncomfortable encounter with him.

She fidgeted nervously with her hands, silently wondering if Kai was mad at her for what happened before dinner, or if he even wanted to see her at all. Timidly, Eva raised her hand to the door and lightly knocked. She waited for a few moments, but there was no answer from the other side of the door. Eva knocked softly again and waited for Kai to answer…

…But he never did.

"K-Kai?" she called out. There was still no answer so she cautiously opened the door and peeked in.

The room was empty.

"Kai?..." she called out again, but still there was no answer. Eva began to worry and walked in to the room to look around for Kai.

"What are you doing?" Kai suddenly said.

Eva whipped around in surprise to find Kai standing at the edge of his walk-in closet, looking at her quizzically with his arms crossed over his chest….

His bare chest, Eva realised.

Eva felt her pulse quicken and she tried to fight the blush that was coming onto her face.

Eva found herself staring at him, and for the first time, she noticed just how much her friend had matured over the last few years.

His arms were lean and muscular and his chest was strong, firm, and built in a way that made Eva's heart pound. She felt her breathing quicken as her eyes flicked down past his pectorals to gaze at his toned abs and firm muscles, before she realised what she was doing and blushed furiously.

_Oh god, Eva! What are you doing!? Snap out of it!_ She mentally scolded herself. _Kai is looking right at you and all you can do is stare at his body! Wake up!_

Kai watched Eva with amusement and interest as the sweet, shy blonde looked over him dressed in only a pair of pyjama pants. He felt a smirk crawl onto his features as the blonde seemed to be mesmerized by his body and felt a surge of masculine pride go through him when she blushed as he caught her gaze, but he ws surprised when a sense of humor and adoration went through him at how cute she was when she blushed.

Kai did a doubler take at his toughts.

_Did I just call her 'cute?'...I never say cute...what is this girl doing to me?..._

**_My, my Master… if I didn't know better I'd say that Eva's opinion of your body means a lot to you. Are you going soft for this girl, Master? _**Dranzer softly teased.

_No! _Kai quickly defended, shooting a hard look to his bitbeast.

**_Oh, I see _**Dranzer said, a sly edge in his voice. **_I just thought that this girl might have been making you all soft, but it's obvious now that she's not…._**

Kai waited suspiciously, knowing that Dranzer wasn't quite done yet.

…_**she's making you all hot and bothered instead… **_Dranzer finished, watching as Kai's eyes widened and he mentally glared at his bitbeast.

_She is not! And don't ever think that! I'm the only person that controls what I do and when I do it, and no-one –whether it's Eva or Tyson, is gonna change that. Got it!?_ Kai mentally growled out.

Dranzer chuckled in Kai's ear.

_**Very well, you keep telling yourself that, Master. But do yourself a favour next time you think that…**_

……_**picture Eva like she was this afternoon---dressed only in a bra and your jeans, looking all mused and sexy… water dripping off her skin and that cute blush across her cheeks. Watching those jeans of yours drop lower and lower off her hips—**_

_DRANZER! _Kai hissed in anger, but the red phoenix had already disappeared, a faint laughter left behind.

Growling to himself, Kai flicked his gaze over to Eva again, watching as she blushed and looked up at him shyly.

"What do you want?' he asked her again, his tone uncaring, although it was mainly from Dranzer's teasing than Eva being in his room.

"I uh…"

_Come on, Eva! Snap out of it!! _She thought to herself.

"I wanted to know if I could borrow some pyjamas" Eva managed to say, glad that her voice hadn't trembled or sounded meek when she finished.

Kai gave an 'hmph' in response.

"Whatever, follow me" he told her, not bothering to wait for her as he turned around and began to walk away.

Eva followed him into the walk-in closet, which was painted red like the rest of the room. He walked over to a mahogany dresser and tossed Eva a pair of checkered drawstring-pants and a white T-shirt.

"Here" he said, "wear these and give them back to me tomorrow. I'll have Vlad take you shopping, since you borrowing my clothes is beginning to get annoying..."

Eva looked to the floor guiltily as he told her that.

"Now…get to bed, and I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight" he told her as he escorted her out of the room.

"Goodnight" she said quietly, avoiding his gaze and waking swiftly back to her own room. She closed the door gently and shrugged off her borrowed clothes.

Dranzella's voice floated through Eva's head.

**_Mistress, you're upset…what happened?_** she asked.

Eva finished changing and tried to smile weakly at her bitbeast.

_I'm alright…I just…I didn't want to irritate Kai, but now it looks like I've done something wrong…_

**_Don't worry, Mistress…I'm sure Kai isn't mad at you. He's always been a guarded and secretive person—you know that. And he probably feels just as awkward as you do right now…._**

**_It's hard for both of you to pretend like nothing has happened these last five years. Kai disappeared to the Abbey and unfortunately he changed…and he probably wishes more than anything that he hadn't… _**

**_But I have faith that Kai still cares for you as much as you do for him… Look at him the same way you did when you were best friends, and let yourself be brave enough to stand him down when he tries to intimidate you…. show Kai that you're here for him and that you want to help, and show him that nothing will stop you from caring for him…_**

_**Just give Kai time to trust again…Rome wasn't built in a day, Mistress, and you can't erase a painful past in just one day either... **_

**_Just give Kai time to heal …_**

_I know…but I can't help worrying about him. But you're right Dranz, I just have to give him time… _Eva said, feeling herself lighten a little at her bitbeast's calming words.

Dranzella disappeared from Eva's mind and Eva checked under her bed to make sure her suitcase was still there. Seeing everything was fine, Eva turned off the lights and slid into the large bed.

She threw the blankets over herself and lay her head down on the soft pillows, loving the way her head sunk into them. She smiled softly to herself and let buried her face into them, faintly smelling cinnamon and mint spices in the fabrics.

She'd know that scent anywhere…

Kai's scent.

Eva let herself relax as she inhaled the calming scent and her eyes drifted shut on their own….and soon, all she knew was darkness….

* * *

Did ya like it??? I'll make the next chapter longer guys! Promise. 

And since I keep forgetting _--oops!--_

**I don't own Beyblade**.

... I wish I did, but unless anything has changed within the last 24 hours or so, Beyblade isn't mine.

My OC, Eva, and the $20 I have in my pocket are the only things I own. LOL.

See ya later guys!


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